PARIS (Reuters) - French luxury goods giant LVMH is replacing its longtime wine and spirits division head Philippe Schaus with Laurent Boillot, the president of cognac label Hennessy, French investigative media La Lettre reported on Friday, citing unnamed sources.

LVMH declined to comment.

Schaus, 61, has held a seat on LVMH's executive committee since 2012 and was CEO of the Moet Hennessy division for the past seven years.

Moet Hennessy has been hit by a slump in demand in the United States and China. Sales have dropped 8% over the past nine months, making it the group's worst-performing business.

LVMH Chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault has been reshuffling the upper echelons of the group in recent months -- though departures are rare -- as a new generation gradually replaces retiring executives and his five children move up the ranks.

The group's selective retailing division head Chris de Lapuente, who oversaw Sephora as well as the group's duty free retailer DFS, is leaving at the end of the month.

Boillot, who has been president and CEO of Hennessy for the past five years, previously ran the group's Guerlain label.

(Reporting by Mimosa Spencer and Dominique Patton; Editing by Susan Fenton)